OUCH!

Okay, I gave blood today. That's not too big of a deal; I give blood all the time. But today, it hurt like WOW! There's always that pinch when they initially stick me. But today, she had to play with the needle a bit because the blood wasn't flowing. At one point, I even yelled out. I NEVER do that! I'm telling you, it hurt!

Finally she declares victory as blood is flowing from my veins through the clear tubing into the little plastic bag. But I'm still in pain, which I'm guessing she surmised by the look on my face and the fact that half of my body was still stiff as a board and somewhat contorted. She promised me that if I relaxed, I would feel better. So, I did. Well, I tried. It took me a couple of minutes. Even though I felt a little more comfortable, the entire time that needle was in my arm, I felt pain. I've never had that before. She kept checking to see if I was okay. I told her that as long as the blood was flowing, I was okay and that I'd let her know if I couldn't stand it any longer. (Secretly, I was avoiding having to completely start over. That's always my fear when giving blood.) Finally, when she yanked the needle out of my arm, my eyeballs nearly popped out of my head! Holy wow! Let's just say, it's a good thing I was still lying down.

So, she puts a band-aid on my 'wound' and wraps it in purple sticky-stretchy tape and I make my way over to the canteen for some orange juice. By this time, I expect the pain to subside. But no. I'm talking to the Red Cross volunteer about something completely different and I couldn't help but interrupt our conversation to announce that my arm was killing me. I asked her if it was okay that I remove the purple sticky-stretchy tape. I thought maybe the pressure on the 'wound' was causing undue discomfort. So, I removed it and washed the iodine off. This helped some. But not completely.

I went on to finish my orange juice, grab my things, and make my way back to my office. My arm is still bothering me. So, it's at this point that I'm wondering if I am in fact allergic to iodine. You know they ask you that every time you give blood. I always say no. But at this point, what else could it be? There's no longer a foreign metal object in my arm. Blood is no longer being sucked from my body. So, I removed the band-aid the phlebotomist adhered to my arm, removed all evidence of the iodine, and put a new band-aid on my puncture wound. After an hour or so, about 3 1/2 hours before I was supposed to, I removed the band-aid.

My 'wound' is naked now. Completely open to the air and all germs in the area. But it's the best I've felt in a couple hours. To look at it, it looks completely fine. And thankfully now, it feels fine…mostly. Lucky me, I don't have to look forward to that again until July 7th.